I'm wondering if someone can please give me some advise on how to transfer programs from my Strong SRT5390 to my PC so I can burn them to DVD? I have phoned a few computer stores and they are telling me that I need to spend around $500 on a good capture card to do this! I could have bought a DVD recorder for this money!!
Obviously I want to get the best transfer that I can but I really dont want to fork out that much money. I really dont need a TV tuner card but honestly I have no idea exactly what I do need. Your input would be greatly appreciated!

Basically...If you want to transfer video data rom a PVR to a PC you should have purchased a Topfield...It is the only box that can realistically do that...Opentel has USB 1.1 but that is extremely slow...but the problem then remains...what will you do with the file when you get it there...As far as t know, there are no programs that deal with Strong files...simply because the data cant be transferred easily, if at all, and no one has written any programs
Topfield owners are transferring data daily, and its USB connection is but one of the plus features you pay a little extra for....Yesterday I transferred 25 gig altogether both ways, but would not bother if I had no way of processing the data.
Data processing is what you would have trouble with, if you could get the data transferred

Basically the video stores are probably right...You would need to get the file to your computer any way you can, and then process the data...which would be easy with data from a capture card
You could get a DVD stand alone burner
For example, I can send the Toppies video and sound out, to my Panasonic DMR E-20 DVD recorder and burn a disk....but of course if the data is too large for a DVD I cant shrink that data to fit a DVD disk...I would have to edit the file ie divide...and then burn on 2 disks.
I am not sure if you can divide a Strong file in edit.

hopefully someone will have some sort of answer for you...

foss

Thanks Fossil Doesn't sound like I have alot of options!
But, having said that, isn't what I want to do the same as people are doing with their analogue video camera's everyday? Transfering their data from an analogue video camera to PC and then just transfering that to DVD?

You can get TV capture cards with s-video input a lot cheaper than 500 bux...

I bought mine for a mere 120 bux ages ago...

Have a look around on the 'net... 500 bux... I think not...

Someone posted ages ago that they had worked out the HDD structure for the Strong 5290 (don't know about the 5390) but I don't know if any tools to mount the drive or rip the drive in windows or Linux were ever demonstrated?
If you don't mind ripping your HDD out the case, and can locate such a tool, then this would be the method of digitally getting your recordings out the Strong.

We can do it 2 ways with the toppy (well 4 ways!)
USB2 transfer
HDD mounted to a PC running Topfrw
HDD mounted to a PC running ProjectX (will rip files out, but not upload).
The good old fashioned way from svid/composite/rgb to a capture card.

Regards